Police Halt Rap Concert; 4 Arrested : Crowds: Drunkenness, fighting reported at free Ventura Theatre event. Officials to discuss ways of preventing future problems.

In the aftermath of a rowdy gangsta rap concert Friday night at the Ventura Theatre, which police shut down early because of fighting and drunkenness, the city’s top leader said it may be time to tighten regulations on such events.

Mayor Jim Friedman said Saturday that city officials and police leaders could study several options to prevent future problems, including forcing concert promoters to guarantee adequate security and asking venue owners to limit alcohol sales.

Three concertgoers were arrested on suspicion of resisting arrest when they allegedly fought with officers who asked them to leave the show, and one person was taken into custody on suspicion of drunk driving and evading officers, Ventura Police Lt. David Inglis said.

Friedman also suggested that promoters and theater owners could be held liable for property damage caused by concertgoers, as well as the cost of policing such events.

“There’s a fine line about what a city can tell private business to do . . . but if there’s a long history of public intoxication and property damage and other damage, the question becomes: ‘Should the taxpayer foot the bill?’,” Friedman said.

The mayor said he plans to talk with Police Chief Mike Tracy to determine if the City Council should take action.

The bulk of the problems at the concert--a free show that started about 7 p.m. and was attended by up to 1,000 people--occurred about 10:15 p.m. and attracted more than 15 Ventura police officers and sheriff’s deputies.

Officers went to the theater after receiving a 911 call about fighting. The show was canceled before the headlining fourth and final act, The S.O.S. Band, could take the stage.

As many as four more people were detained or cited and then released in connection with fighting and vandalism that occurred near the theater, police said.

Inglis said the show’s promoters or the theater’s owners should have provided more security.

“You can Monday-morning quarterback all you want, and they always say prior to it that they have enough, but the proof is in the pudding and evidently it wasn’t enough,” Inglis said.

Theater manager Loanne Wullaert said she had 30 employees acting as security officers at the show and that the crew successfully escorted out several concertgoers who were fighting or intoxicated.

Wullaert said her security team had the concert under control but that she did call 911 twice so that officers could handle a stolen car report and detain a woman who was hitting security guards.

Several concertgoers said as they left that the police had no good reason to cancel the show or show up in such force.

But Wullaert praised officers for their help and said the problems at the show weren’t created by a large police presence but by small groups of rival gang members.

She also placed blame on the fact that local radio station Q104-7 distributed free tickets to the show as part of the station’s anniversary promotion.

“It was a free show. That’s the problem. When we do a show, we set a ticket price for a reason, and when people buy a ticket, they go for the sole purpose of seeing a show, and they have more respect. But if you win a free ticket, people just show up to be part of a scene,” Wullaert said.

Neither the disc jockey who emceed the show, Danny G, nor other radio executives could be reached for comment Saturday. The radio station promoted and sponsored the show.

In addition to problems with gang violence, intoxication played a big role, police and witnesses said.

“There were people from different sides of the neighborhood listening to a bunch of gangsta rap played live. Then add alcohol, and that’s a problem,” said Justin Dorren, a bouncer at the theater.

One song also seemed to add to the rowdiness and fights.

Most of the brawls happened when rap artist Mack 10 did a rendition of “Bow Down,” a song about gang pride made famous by the multiplatinum group Westside Connection.

“When Mack 10 did that Westside Connection song, it got a lot of people in the crowd throwing down gang signs. There was already tension when you have people from the ‘hood in Fillmore, Santa Paula, Oxnard and Ventura,” Wullaert said.

The show was halted after Mack 10’s performance. This is not the first concert that has caused concern among police and city officials.

In 1988, the Grateful Dead was banned from performing in Ventura because of a concert a year earlier that saw six people arrested and hundreds of others swimming naked and bartering drugs at Surfers Point near the Ventura County Fairgrounds.

At this year’s county fair, fair officials refused to book rap artists. At last year’s fair, three gang members were stabbed during a concert by the hip-hop group Next.

Radio station Q104-7, which has hosted at least three other similar concerts at the theater without as many problems, plans to put on another hip-hop/rap show Nov. 20.

Theater officials said they will rent the venue to the station again but with conditions.

“If we do another one of these things, it’s going to be very different. We don’t want to deal with this crap anymore. We’re here to promote music and not to clean up after someone else,” Wullaert said.